A New Start
by fanfictionwriter0623
Summary: A failed abduction by Kumo to gain the Uzumaki bloodline leaves Naruto by himself in Iwa. Watch as he grows up in the enemy of the country of his birth. Will the secret of his parentage ruin all the friendship, ambitions, and possibly even romances that are formed in Iwa. Follow Naruto's new start in Iwa, where he can finally express his true potential. Naruto x Kurotsuchi.
1. Chapter 1

**After some of your reviews, I decided that the first chapter of the story was not very realistic and there would be some plot holes later, so I decided to redo the chapter.**

**Sorry if anyone thought this was updated, but the first chapter wasn't very good. Then again, I don't think anyone cares.**

**Note: In this story the Hyuuga-Kumo incident occurred one year earlier than in canon.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

Prologue: Failed Abduction

It was late in the evening when the news came in. A spy rushed all the way across the continent from Konoha to Kumogakure as soon as he acquired the information. Kumogakure had a large and well-connected spy network–almost matching that of Jiraya of the Sannin–and the information they had just received was not well guarded secret. It extremely easy to obtain this information.

The spy rushed directly into the office of the Raikage, A. He was reading a certain orange book when the spy came into his office. He was extremely irritated that he was interrupted during his personal time.

Quickly putting the book away, he smashed his fists down onto his desk in anger. The desk broke in half; he was not a world-renowned taijutsu expert for nothing. His secretary, who was looking in from the doorway, sweatdropped at the sight. 'Damn. That's the third desk he's destroyed this week.'

With his anger yet unabated, the Raikage started to yell at his spy. "This better be good intel you've got, because if not, you might be on the receiving end of my fist." The spy paled at the thought, but he was not extremely afraid because he knew the Raikage would be extremely pleased at his information.

"Yes, sir. This information is extremely important. Do you remember the failed mission about twenty years ago where we attempted to retrieve the Uzumaki girl from Konoha?"

At this the Raikage became even more displeased. "Yes, of course. It was a diplomatic nightmare, and it got the yellow flash involved. Get to the important part already; I'm not feeling very patient today."

"Well, I discovered another Uzumaki in the village. I don't believe him to be related to her because he has blonde hair–unlike her red hair, but he might have the same ability as her. Even better, he is an orphan and an outcast in the village.

It would be child's play to assemble a team a bring him to Kumogakure. The best part of all is that he is only two years old. If we brought him here he would remember nothing of his past, and we could raise his to be a loyal shinobi of Kumogakure. We could gain a bloodline limit as well as a powerful shinobi in one simple mission."

While the spy was speaking the Raikage, his face morphed from one of initial displeasure into one of extreme glee. "Yes, yes, this could be extremely beneficial. But Konoha is already displeased at us about the Hyuuga incident a few months ago. This mission would have to be one of utmost stealth. When we go to talk with Konoha about the Hyuuga incident, we will sneak a team of jonin in.

However, this will be easier than capturing the heir of a clan, for he is an orphan. The jonin will put on Iwagakure headbands once they leave the village with him. I am confident in the ability of our jonin to sneak of past the border with Iwa and then they will catch a ship from the coast. With any luck, if Konoha cares, they will blame Iwa. We are leaving for diplomatic relations in three days. Assemble a team of jonin that you think would be able to complete this mission."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed, now go!" The Raikage had a huge grin on his face. He was about to do something that his father, the previous Raikage had not been able to do, and this pleased him greatly. However, he forgot a vital lesson about counting chickens before they hatch.

* * *

Three days later:

"Shit, I didn't expect this kind of border security. Our intel must have been off." The team meant to abduct Naruto was not faring very well. They had been spotted by an Iwa border patrol, and while they had on fake Iwa forehead protectors, the simple duplicity was not enough to fool the Iwa nins.

In the ensuing battle, all but one of the team of Kumo jonin had been killed and the entire patrol from Iwa had been killed as well. The Kumo jonin that had survived, however, was extremely wounded. His entire right arm was gone and bleeding profusely after a boulder from a Doton jutsu launched by one of the Iwa nins had hit him.

He decided that if there was any chance of succeeding in the mission, he would have to leave Naruto behind and come back for him later with reinforcements. If he were to continue with the child, he would inevitably pass out from blood loss before he could inform his superiors of the boy's position.

As it was currently, he didn't have much of a chance of success either way, but slim was better than none. He left Naruto at the base of a large tree a few kilometers away from the battle, so if anyone noticed the battle, then they would not find the young boy.

However, the Kumo jonin would not be successful in his attempt to complete the mission; he passed out and would later die from blood loss after a few more kilometers. Now no one knew the whereabouts of Uzumaki Naruto, Son of the fourth Hokage, last of the Uzumaki, and jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi: a very important person to be laying beneath a tree in the middle of nowhere.

But Kami smiled on Naruto that day, for in the exact same middle of nowhere where he was laying, there was a woman returning from making a delivery from her shop, who was lost off the path.

"Damn, I just had to take a leak, and now I'm lost. Suddenly, from not very far away, she heard a cry like that of a small child. 'I wonder what that was. It didn't sound very dangerous; maybe it can help me get back on the path.'

Rina Arato was a citizen of Iwagakure, the widow of an Iwa shinobi, the owner of a ninja gear shop, and the best friend of daughter of the current Tsuchikage. She was not exceptional in appearance; she was of average height and weight. Her hair was cut short and was a dull, dark red. She also had brilliant green eyes that were her most extraordinary feature.

She had been very good friends with the daughter of the Tsuchikage; her husband and Rina's husband had died in the war with Konoha, she had been asked to take care of the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, while her mother could not during the day.

Currently, she was supposed to be delivering a package to a village near the border containing many shinobi supplies for restocking the border town's arsenal. she had been good friends with the town's leader for a long time as she often was tasked with delivering supplies. However, she was now lost on her way back.

Hearing the cry again, she followed it and found, lying under a large tree, a small child. He had bright blonde hair and bright blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks. She was extremely worried because she could not find any evidence of why he was by himself in the middle of the wilderness by himself.

'I guess it's up to me to get him back to his parents.' She thought. 'I wonder if he's from the town I just dropped off the supplies at.' She decided to climb the tree he was lying under so she could see the town again and make her way back there.

While she was not a shinobi, she kept herself in pretty good shape and climbing the tree was no trouble for her. Spying the village a few kilometers away, she picked up the child, who was still nameless, and started walking.

"Do you have a name, little guy?" she asked, honestly not expecting a reply.

"Na-, Naru-, Naruto!" he said, seemingly proud that he had been able to say his entire name.

"So your name is Naruto? I hope that means maelstrom and not fishcake." She said with a smile. "Now that we know your name it will be easier to get you back to your parents. They must be worried sick."

After a short trip back to the village, she made her way to the village leader, Shozaburo Murasaki, who she had left the supplies with only a few hours ago.

"Rina, what are you doing back here? I thought you were going back to Iwa after you delivered the supplies? And why do have a child with you"

"Well.." she trailed off, "I was on my way back to Iwa, but I made my way off the path to take a leak, and I kinda got lost." At this she rubbed the back of her head and blushed slightly at the embarrassing memory. "But while I was lost I found this little guy in the woods. I looked for a while, but there was no one around. I figured the best way I could find his parents was to contact you."

"Fair enough, I'll put out a village wide notification immediately. His parents are probably worried sick and will come for him by the end of the day. Though, what are you going to do if we don't find his parents? I believe that I would know if any of the children in the village were missing. This isn't exactly a big town."

He gestured out the window and she saw that the town was small enough that everyone in the town probably knew everyone else. If any child went missing, the whole village would be quickly in panic mode, and that did not appear to be the case.

She stared off into space, thinking about Shozaburo's last question. What was she going to do? Her mind drifted to her late husband, Fujimaro. They had been hoping to start a family after the third shinobi world war was over. Both her and Fujimaro had been orphans, and this led them to have a strong desire to have children.

However, all hope of having children went out the window with Fujimaro's death. She had loved him so much that she could never hope of re-marrying.

But after just a few hours with the small child, he started to fill the void in her heart that had been left gaping since the third shinobi world war. While to others it may have seemed sick and twisted, as the hours went by she found herself hoping more and more that no one would come for him so that she could raise him herself.

Knocking on the door to the office of Shozaburo, she opened it to inform him on Naruto's status. "Hey, Shozaburo-san. I'm going to take Naruto and find a hotel to stay for the night. I've decided that if no one comes for him tomorrow I'm going to adopt him and take him with me. I always wanted to have kids until my husband died, and now I finally can have a son."

"That sound fair to me. I'll let you know if anyone comes tomorrow."

No one did come though, which had Rina both happy that she would be able to take care of him, and also sad that his parents were either dead or had abandoned him.

* * *

It was three days later when Rina arrived back in Iwagakure. She was extremely weary from the extra time the trip had taken and having to take care of a two-year old as well. But she didn't really care; the blonde had a mysterious ability to make anyone he came into contact with like him, and she had fallen hard. She already felt like a mother after only five days of knowing him.

The two chuunin who were on guard duty knew he very well. Just like in Konoha, there were two lazy chuunin who always seemed to draw guard duty. "Hey Rina, what took you so long? You were supposed to be back two days ago. And who do you have with you?"

"Well, I got lost for a bit and found this little guy hanging out under a tree." She trailed off playing with her finger under his chin, looking every bit the part of a new mother. "I wasn't very far from the village so I took him back to see if Shozaburo-san knew if he had any parents. Sozaburo-san did not know of any and no one came for him. I decided to take him back and I'm going to adopt him today. I couldn't just leave him all by his lonesome. Plus, he's just so cute!"

"I do have to agree with you there, Rina, he is pretty darn cute."

She had to take him to the social services building in town so she could finalize the adoption process. Several hours and a lot of excruciating paperwork later, Rina had a son, Naruto Arato, and she would raise him as her son.

* * *

Three years later: Naruto is five

"Naruto, We're going to visit someone today." Rina called out to Naruto who was currently playing in his room. He then ran to his mom who was standing in the doorway.

"She's the daughter of one of my really close friends, Oshima Suzuki. Oshima was a kunoichi and the daughter of the current Tsuchikage, but she died on a mission." At this she struggled to hold back tears for her friend that she had known from childhood.

"She has a daughter, Kurotsuchi, and because she doesn't have parents anymore, I'll be taking care of her during the day. Don't tell her her mom is dead yet; I want to find a good time to tell her. You need to be on your best behavior, okay?"

"Okay, kaa-san. I'll be good."

"Good. I'll bring her here immediately. Naruto, can I trust you to stay here by yourself for half an hour?"

"Yes. I'm a big boy, I can be by myself for half an hour."

"Okay... I'll be back soon."

Sure enough, half an hour later, Rina returned with Kurotsuchi in tow. When she came in the front door, Naruto was waiting patiently for her. Kurotsuchi was hiding behind her. She turned around to address the small girl in her shadow.

"Kurotsuchi, this is my son Naruto. He's the same age as you." The turning back around to face Naruto she said, "Naruto, this is the honorable granddaughter of the third Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi. Kurotsuchi, why don't you come out from behind me and say hi?"

"Hi, Naruto," She was very tentative when she spoke, characteristic on one who had not spent much time around people of her own age.

Naruto paused, not knowing whether to address her as the honorable granddaughter or as just Kurotsuchi. He did not know it, but this one choice would decide the fate of his future. "Hi, Kurotsuchi. Do you want to go play in the backyard with me?"

They started walking away from Rina and toward the backyard. "Yes, I love to play with you. After a small pause she added, "Thank you."

Now Naruto was confused, what was she thanking him for? "Kurotsuchi, what are you thanking me for?

"Thank you for calling me Kurotsuchi. Everyone calls me 'The Honorable Granddaughter' and when they look at me, all they think about is my grandfather. I want to be seen as my own person. And one day I'm going to prove it. Then everyone is going to have to recognize me for who I am, and not for my family." While she was saying this her voice was slowly rising in intensity until she almost shouted the last part.

They walked in silence for a minute until they got to the backyard. "Hey Kurotsuchi, what do you want to play?"

* * *

They played in the backyard for hours, playing ninja, hide and seek, tag, and anything else they could think of. Rina found them laying down in the grass next to each other, both tired from a long day of play.

"Are you two going to be friends?" Rina was hopeful that if the two of them would be friends, it would be easier to take care of both children and easier to break the sad news to Kurotsuchi.

"Yeah! We're going to be best friends." Rina was pretty surprised that it was Kurotsuchi who proclaimed this because from what she knew of the girl, she was not very outspoken. Then again, she could have predicted this outcome. Because was the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage she seemed unapproachable to any kids and as a result, didn't have very many friends. Naruto, it seemed, did not have any reservations about playing with her. Even in this short time, the two had become friends.

"Well, I have some good news and some really bad news for you Kurotsuchi. Which do you want first." The girl was a little surprised, but decided to hear the good news first. "First, it's good that you are such good friends, because you're going to be a lot more time together. The bad news is... I don't really know how to say this..." She trailed off, rubbing tears that were forming in her eyes.

"You know that being a ninja means taking risks, right?" She nodded at Rina to show that she understood. "Well your mom was a ninja and she had to take risks too. And today those risks didn't turn out too well. I'm really sorry to have to tell you, but your mom died on a mission, but don't worry; Naruto and I will be here to help you through this."

Kurotsuchi started sobbing and whimpering for her mother. Seeing his friend is such a state of despair caused a deep pain in Naruto, and he put his arm around her in an attempt to console her. Eventually the two of them fell asleep, together in the grass. Rina sighed at the cute scene of the two kids lying together, despite the heartbreak of what she had to tell them before. She carried the two of them inside the house and laid them to sleep together on the bed. She knew that this night would be the start of a great friendship.

* * *

Three years later: Naruto is eight

"Kurotsuchi, what are we waiting for?" Asano Nanako, one of Kurotsuchi's closest friends (other than Naruto of course) was tired of waiting for Kurotsuchi's birthday party to start.

"He'll be here, just wait." She too was a little tired of waiting, but she knew her best friend wouldn't be late for her birthday present without a good reason.

"Humph, why did you invite a boy to your party?" Honami Mari, another one of Kurotsuchi's friends had not been introduced to Naruto yet and she did not know how close of friends the two were."

"Look, here he comes now!" Kurotsuchi was glad to see that he was finally here; he was running top speed up to her house. When he got there he promptly fell down of the ground breathing hard. All of the girls giggled at the sight of him lying winded on the ground. "Sorry... huh... I was... huh... finishing up... huh... your present." He barely managed to get this out while breathing so heavily.

Rina was right behind him, not having run like Naruto had. "Let's get this party started."

The party was a grand affair, with a large cake and many presents exchanged. But Naruto had refused to give her his present, insisting that it was special and he would give it to her when he thought the time was right.

Three hours later found Naruto and Kurotsuchi hiding in a tree during their game of hide and seek. "We're pretty good hiders, right Naruto?"

"Yeah... Hey Kurotsuchi, are you going to become a ninja?"

She was caught off guard by his seemingly random question. "I think so. Why do you ask?"

"Well, we have to make the decision of whether or not to go to the academy soon. Why do you want to become a ninja?"

"My whole family were ninja, so I want to make them proud. And if I become a ninja, everyone will have to acknowledge me. Are you going to go to the academy too?"

"I think so. If you're going, then I'm going too. Also, I want to become strong so that I can protect my precious people like my mom and you." He said this with his trademark big, goofy smile. "I think this is a good time to give you my presents. First is this." He pulled out a box with a hairpiece that she could put her hair into a bun with.

"When you're fighting as a ninja, you don't want your hair to get in the way, and it would be a shame to have to cut your hair really short, so I got you this. The hairpiece was very ornate and Kurotsuchi assumed that he had his mother's help in picking out any paying for the gift.

"I also got you this necklace." He pulled out a necklace with a big wooden bead in the center with a spiral on in. "I made this myself. You know my name means maelstrom, so-"

"Or fish cake," she interrupted, giggling.

"Yes, or fish cake. But a maelstrom is a giant whirlpool so I thought this spiral would remind you of me. Do you like them?"

"Yes, I love them." And it was true. From that day onward she would never again cut her hair or take off the necklace he had made for her.

* * *

**I think that was a lot better and more realistic than the first rendition. The next chapter will be up soon; I have the whole outline done already.**

**I wanted Kurotsuchi to have long hair because I personally find long hair very attractive.**

**I hope to have the next chapter up soon.**

**Ja ne!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm a little disappointed that my revised chapter did not get the same attention as the other on, but "c'est la vie"..**

**I'm making some changes to canon for this part of the story. I'm making the graduating age 15. First, I think 12 is too young to be trained to kill people. Second, I'm going to start the romance a short time after graduation, and 12 is too young for any romance be lasting and important. Third, it will be a lot easier for me to write the perspective of a 15 year-old, as that is how old I am.**

**Another change from canon is Kurotsuchi's bloodline. It canon, it is described as closer to quicklime than lava, but in my story, will actually be lava, like Mei Terumi.**

**Without further ado, let's get this story started.**

* * *

It was the final day of the academy year in Iwagakure, and the day that the academy students take the final test. We find Naruto sitting by himself on a swing outside the academy. This would have been very similar to what Naruto's life would have been in Konoha except for one simple fact.

Naruto was not sad or depressed. In fact he was very happy and anxious. He was happy because he had just passed the ninja academy and had received a high score, possibly high enough to become the rookie of the year.

He was by himself on the swing because his name was Naruto Arato. The instructors had called them up to perform the test in alphabetical order and he was first. He was anxious for his best friend to get out of the testing area. He would have to wait for many other students to get out before she would come out because her name was near the end of the alphabet.

Some of his other friends came out while he was still waiting for her to come out. As he talked to them he found that he had done very well comparatively. He had even received some extra credit points for being able to perform the shadow clone and a wind jutsu.

While the shadow clone was a forbidden technique, it was not a forbidden technique because it was a secret of the village. The only reason that is was kept a forbidden technique was because it took an incredibly large amount of chakra. Jonin and sometimes chuunin would sometimes learn it, but even then they were limited to three or four clones.

Naruto was the first ever in the village to learn this jutsu before becoming a chuunin, and he wasn't even fully a ninja yet. The reason he was allowed to try the jutsu was because he was having a lot of trouble with the regular bunshin. This was very surprising to the academy teachers, as Naruto was always at the head of the class.

When they consulted with some more skilled ninja, they had determined that Naruto had a huge amount of chakra. As a result of the larger reserves, Naruto's chakra control was much lower than any of the other students.

After consulting with the teachers and even the Tsuchikage, who had grown close with Naruto after his granddaughter's friendship with the blonde, Naruto had been allowed to learn the shadow clone. He had completely surprised them and himself when he created over fifty clones.

However, Naruto didn't want any special treatment from the teachers or even the Tsuchikage. Unbeknownst to everyone else, he had visited the library to learn more about chakra control. The most basic exercise he found was using his chakra to stick a pebble to his skin. While it had taken a while for him to get the exercise down, he vowed to get his chakra control above the level of his classmates despite his disadvantage.

After practicing the exercise for several weeks, he had gotten it down that he could hold the pebble for as long as he wanted. After his initial success, he decided to take it to the next level by keeping the pebble stuck to his skin all the time. Initially it had taken his concentration away from his studies, but he quickly was able to do it unconsciously and he was able to recover in his studies. As it became easier for him to keep the pebble stuck to his skin, he would add another one. By the time of the of his graduation, he had over fifty pebbles stuck all over his body.

Snapping out of his daze of remembering his academy days, he saw Kurotsuchi coming out of the academy. Running over to her, he embraced he in a tight hug. "How did you do? Of course you did well. You did well right?" Naruto was in in his rapidfire speaking mode.

"Relax, I did well. I even think I got some extra credit by doing some lava release techniques. How do think you did." Kurotsuchi was calm and cool, the opposite of Naruto.

"Yeah, I think I did well, I did the shadow clone and a few wind element jutsu." Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he said this. It was a habit that he did when he was embarrassed, and he was embarrassed now because he never liked to brag. "Your lava release is darn cool, you know that, right?" Naruto had always been slightly envious of her bloodline. Her lava was at the same time beautiful and extremely destructive. While his wind element was cool,he did not think that it was not as cool as his best friend's lava affinity.

She stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "Well you can't have it." He laughed at teasing. "Well, we should probably go back to your house. Your mom is probably extremely worried about how we did even though she should know that we did well."

"You're probably right."

After a short walk home in a comfortable silence between the friends, they arrived at Naruto's house. Seeing the two friends walking up to her house, Rina ran out to them. Grabbing both of them in a deep hug, she began to ask them about their performance. "How did you guys do? I know you did well. Were you guy the best in your class? Wait, you won't know until tomorrow, right? But do you think you will be?"

Kurotsuchi could see where Naruto got his personality from. Putting her hand over the mouth of the woman who had been almost her mother for the past ten years, she reassured her that they did well. "Of course we did well, Rina. I bet that Naruto was even rookie of the year."

"While I may have done well, I'm sure that Kurotsuchi was the rookie of the year." While she was always close, Naruto was always at the top of every test and ranking in the academy. She could not understand how he could continue to believe that she was better than him.

"Well, I'm sure that you both did well. Remember that I'm proud of you, no matter who wins rookie of the year. Naruto, I've got something really important to tell you. I promised myself that I would tell you after you graduated and it's finally time. I hate to do this, but it's kind of a private thing, Kurotsuchi, so could you wait outside for a bit?"

Kurotsuchi had grown close to Rina over the last ten years, but she could see that this was a really important matter. She knew that the older woman would not leave her out of a secret for a good reason. "It's fine, Rina. I understand. I'll wait out here until you guys are done."

Naruto was looking pensive while all this was going on. "No, Kurotsuchi can hear it too. If you can tell me, then you can tell my best friend as well." Kurotsuchi was surprised and flattered that Naruto trusted her that much.

After taking both of them in the house she sat down in a big chair, facing the two young friends. "Naruto, I know this may be a little tough to bear, but please be strong. Remember that I love you no matter what, okey.

What I have to tell you is: I'm not your real mom. I was returning from delivering some supplies to a border town when I found you in the woods. I couldn't find your parents so I brought you back to Iwagakure and adopted you. I don't know where your real parents are or whether they're even alive, but I do know that I'm not you real mom." By the end of her speech, Rina was in hysterics.

"No, NO!" Naruto shouted. "That's not true!"

"But it is true, Rina sobbed. "I remember. If you want proof we can go talk to Shozaburo."

"That's not what I meant." Naruto was now a lot calmer. "Don't ever say that. Don't ever say that you're not my real mom. Because you are. You are my real mom. I don't care who gave birth to me; they're not my parents. You are and always will be my real mom."

The two embraced in a teary hug. As they held each other, Rina called to Kurotsuchi, "Get in here, you're part of the family too."

* * *

The next day would decide their lives forever, for the next day was the day they would be split up into teams that would define their lives for years to come. Naruto was waiting anxiously outside the house shared by Kurotsuchi and her only living relative, the Tsuchikage. As she exited her house she could clearly see that something was bothering him.

"Hey, Naruto. What's wrong? You look very worried."

"I can't hide anything from you, can I? Well I'm just worried about team assignments today. What if we're not on the same team, will we still see each other. Missions take up so much time, and if we're on different teams we won't be able to hang out much."

"Don't worry, we'll still be friends even if we're on different teams."

"I know, but it just won't be the same. Promise me that even if we are on different teams, we'll still be there for each other."

"I promise. You didn't even have to ask."

The two then walked to the academy together in nervous silence of what was ahead. Sitting together in the back of the room, they patiently waited for their teacher to arrive. After waiting for a few minutes their teacher arrived exactly on time.

"Good morning class. As you all know, today is a very important day. While you left the academy yesterday, today is the day you become ninja. First I will announce the class ranks. Our top Kunoichi is, Kurotsuchi Suzuki. Congratulations Kurotsuchi."

Kurotsuchi looked over at Naruto with a big grin on her face. She knew that Naruto had won rookie of the year, even if he was not yet sure.

The teacher continued. "Now, for Rookie of the year. I'm sure you all already know who it it is." Everyone's head turned to Naruto, who just rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin. All the other students knew of his accolades and couldn't have expected anyone else to win. "Our rookie of the year is Naruto Arato. Congratulations.

Now, on to the team assignments." Naruto spaced out until he heard either his or Kurotsuchi's name. "Team three is Kurotsuchi Suzuki, Iwasa Kamizuru..." Naruto was hoping against hope to be the final spot on that team. "And Naruto Arato." Naruto would have jumped up and shouted for joy if he had not been trained well in the academy to remain calm at all times.

"Jour jonin-senseis will be here after lunch, so I suggest that you use the lunch break to get to know your teammates."

Naruto decided that it would be prudent to try to get to know his teammate better before his jonin-sensei got there. He did not know much about him other than the fact that he was from a clan that used bees and that he was very quiet.

The three went out to lunch together, but to Naruto it seemed like it was only him and Kurotsuchi. The bee-user did not speak much during lunch and Naruto found his efforts to get to know him better were mostly fruitless.

Now the three were waiting together with the rest of the class in the room that they had spent most of the last eight years of their lives in. All of the students were looking at the door with varying degrees of attention. A young woman with long, brown hair entered the room first. "Team Three, you're with me. Meet me at training ground thirty-three in half an hour." She then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Well, we should probably get going. That training ground in on the other side of village." Naruto called mainly to Kurotsuchi.

"Alright, I'm coming." The pair then took off together, jumping from building to building across the village in an attempt to arrive at the training ground as quickly as possible. Iwasa was hurrying to the training ground as well, but not as quickly as his excited teammates.

When Naruto and Kurotsuchi arrived, there was no one else there. A few minutes later, Iwasa arrived and the three sat in tense silence. Exactly half an hour after they left the academy, there was another cloud of smoke, and their new sensei.

"Alright, let's sit down and introduce ourselves. Likes, dislike, dreams and goals for the future."

"Since we mostly know each other already, perhaps you should go first." Naruto was curious as to who his sensei was as he hadn't seen her around before or at least he hadn't recognized her.

"Okay. My name is Yui Nawabe. I was recently promoted to jonin after being a special jonin for several years. I like gardening, my friends and kenjutsu. I dislike people who put down others, perverts, asparagus and spicy food. My dream is to become the greatest swordsman in the elemental nations, greater than the seven swordsman of the mist. My goal at the present is to train you three to become strong shinobi to serve the Village. Blondie, you're up next."

"Alright. My name in Naruto Arato. My likes are my mom, my friend Kurotsuchi and all my other friends, training and ramen. I dislike people who try to hurt my friends and Iwagakure and not a lot else. My goal is to become a strong shinobi. My dream is to become Tsuchikage."

Kurotsuchi was surprised by his last statement. Naruto had never told her that this was his dream before. She was a little angry that he hadn't told you. She hit him over the head, and with all her strength training, it really hurt.

"Ow, what was that for?" While the punch hurt, Naruto had been hit worse in training and he wasn't angry at Kurotsuchi.

"That was for not telling me you dream until now. And why do you want to become the Tsuchikage?" Interestingly enough, Yui was about to ask the same question. She wanted to make sure her student wanted to become powerful for the right reasons.

"I want to become the Tsuchikage so I can protect my precious people and everyone in the village!" Yui was pleased to hear that her student wanted to become the Tsuchikage for the right reasons. If he only wanted it for respect or some other selfish reasons, she would have had to correct him."

"Alright, girlie. You're next." She gestured so that Kurotsuchi would realize that it was her turn to go.

"My Name is Kurotsuchi Suzuki. I like Naruto and training. I dislike people who only see me as the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage. My goal and dream is to become as strong kunoichi so people will respect me for who I am, not who I am related to."

'It seems that the two of them are very close. I wonder... are the two of them romantically involved? I'll wait and see.'

"I assume that I am to be next." Iwasa did not even wait for his sensei's recognition to begin his introduction. "My name is Iwasa Kamizuru. I do not like many things. I dislike many things , especially the Aburame clan of Konoha. My goal is to become strong, and, while it's not my dream, because it will become reality, I will restore the honor of my clan against the Aburame."

'Great, we have a broody avenger. I'll have to break him of that and remind him that his loyalty is to Iwa first, and then to his clan.' Overall, Yui was happy with her team.

"Okay, now that introductions are finished, I will test your abilities. We will start off with taijutsu. You three will all attack me. You must come at me with the intent to kill if you even want to touch me. Begin."

As soon as she said the word, Iwasa rushed at Yui hastily, his right hand pulled back, showing her that he would start off with a punch. She easily dodged the punch the genin threw at her and let him rush past her. As he went by, she hit him with a knife strike to the neck, and he collapsed instantly.

"That was pathetic. Let's see if either of you two can do any better."

"She looks tough, Naruto. We're going to have to take her together."

"Of course." He had not even thought about engaging her one on one. "We'll use plan seven." Naruto and Kurotsuchi had created several rough plans to use together against enemies that they could not take on their own.

"That seems appropriate. On three. One, two, three." The genin pair rushed toward her at speeds that she had not been expecting. Rather than rush her directly like like Iwasa had done, the two took up positions on opposite sides of her. Naruto went for a leg sweep, and as she easily dodged. Trying to take advantage of her opponent's unbalance by throwing a strike to his right side.

Her efforts were foiled as Kurotsuchi flew into the picture. Yui's strike was blocked by Kurotsuchi's left hand and Kurotsuchi spun around, striking at Yui's midsection with her other hand.

As Yui blocked, the two genin flipped back from her to regroup. "I'll admit that you're better than your teammate, but you're both firmly average and don't have a chance of striking me. We should move on to ninjutsu as I already can see your taijutsu abilities. It's a shame that the two best rookies aren't better at taijustu than this."

Naruto and Kurotsuchi shared a look before both of them exposed their arms and legs. They both took off the weights they had been wearing. As Naruto dropped his weights, a small crater formed on the ground. While Kurotsuchi's were not as heavy, Yui was still impressed that the pair had started weight training already.

Naruto and Kurotsuchi engaged her again, and now they were much more effective. One would strike, and as she tried to take advantage of the opening left by the strike, the other would attack and stop her from gaining the advantage. The two fought as one well-oiled machine, and while they could not overpower their sensei, they were certainly holding their own.

"I've seen enough of your abilities to judge for now, and I must say that I'm impressed. Also, it seems that Iwasa is coming around. We'll move on to ninjutsu." While she did not say it, the thing that she was most impressed by was their teamwork. They worked together better than any pair that she had ever seen. 'I'm now certain that those two know each other well prior to today. They must have been friends for a while, or maybe more...'

"Now that you are awake, Iwasa, we will continue with ninjutsu and other abilities like genjutsu or kenjutsu. Iwasa, why don't you go first."

"I can do an earth justu, the earth wall." He demonstrated and a small wall of rock and earth formed in front of him. "I can also do some clan techniques such as the bee bomb technique, bee honey technique, and the beeswax clone."

'At least he is not as bad with ninjutsu as with with taijutsu. It appears that he has an earth affinity like most of Iwagakure. Still, pretty good.'

"Let's see if you two are as good with ninjutsu as taijutsu. Naruto, you first."

'So, sensei thinks that Naruto and Kurotsuchi are good at taijutsu,' thought Iwasa. 'I have to find some way to surpass them. I won't be able to redeem my clan if I am weaker than those two clanless losers.'

"I don't have too many jutsu, but I know a few wind jutsu; that is my affinity. I would stand back, this can get a little destructive."

The others stepped back and he turned away from them. "Wind release: slicing wind blades!" He ran through several hand seals and swung his arms several times. From his hands extended a wind bald for each time he swung his arms. The blades went all over the training ground, leaving deep gashes in the ground and the various boulders scattered around.

Everyone was impressed by his jutsu's raw, destructive power. "I know a few other wind jutsu, but none as good as this one. I also know some fuuinjutsu, enough to create sealing scrolls and explosive tags. Also I can seal someone's chakra away temporarily."

'He definitely deserves to be rookie of the year. I wonder if Kurotsuchi is as good as him.'

"Alright, you up next, Kurotsuchi. After this we will be done for today and you can go home for today."

"I can only really do lava jutsu other than the academy ones and a few earth and fire. I'll show you my best lava jutsu." She turned to where Naruto had demonstrated his wind jutsu. She called out, "Lava release: lava stream." A stream of molten lava shot out of her mouth. This jutsu was made even more effective because the lava would remain on the ground, hindering any opponent's movement.

"Alright; that's enough for today. Meet me here tomorrow and we'll start taking missions."

Naruto and Kurotsuchi walked home together like they always did when they were in the academy. On their way home, they were ambushed by three of Kurotsuchi's closest friends, other than Naruto of course.

"Hey Kurotsuchi, we were going to have a sleepover tonight to talk about our teams and stuff, you want to come?" Asano was Kurotsuchi's best female friend so there was never any doubt that Kurotsuchi would accept.

"Sure," she replied. "Naruto, do we have anything we need to do tonight."

Honami, another of Kurotsuchi's friends, suddenly chimed in before Naruto could respond, "Well, we were going to have a girls night, so Naruto can't come."

Kurotsuchi looked conflicted about choosing between Naruto and the girls. Before she could respond either way, Naruto made the decision for her. "It's fine. I have to work on my wind element training anyways."

"Alright, I'll come," Kurotsuchi decided even if she was still feeling a bit conflicted.

The group of girls continued to Ayako's house, where the sleepover would be. Ayako Kasai was Kurotsuchi's newest friend, one she met in the academy. Once the foursome was settled in the living room on various couches and chairs, Kurotsuchi was suddenly inundated with questions from the other girls.

Asano was always the most outspoken of the girls, so it was not a surprise that she was the first to start teasing Kurotsuchi. "You seem even closer to Naruto now. Pretty lucky that you're on the same team."

Honami picked up where Asano left off. "What is your relationship with him. Are you still only friends?"

Ayako was the most quiet of the four, but she did not want to be left out. "Y-you seem to spend a lot of time with him." The shy girl stuttered a little bit, but she was getting over it with the help of the other girls.

"I've told you a million times, we're only friends."

In addition to being outspoken, Asano was also a bit of a tease. "So you're saying that he's available? He's pretty much the perfect package: talented, a nice guy, and how should I put this... He's extremely hot! If you don't mind, I'll see if I can get a date with him."

A mental picture formed in her mind of Naruto going out with Asano. Surprisingly, she felt strong negative emotions at the thought. A small growl escaped her lips. But why was she thinking that? She didn't like Naruto, did she? Well, she knew that she liked Naruto, she had said it in her introduction earlier today, but she didn't like like him.

Or maybe she did. She did almost everything with him, and when she wasn't with him, she wished he was with her. He also comforted her when she was down, and he was there for her after her mother died. He was also very sweet and honest. She also realized that the thought of him with someone who wasn't her made her feel extreme displeasure.

Eventually she came to the conclusion that she did like him. And while it wasn't the reason that she liked him, she would admit that he was hot. Her friends had been silent for about a minute, watching her as she growled in anger. But as the seconds went by her expression changed from one of anger to more contemplative, then embarrassed.

Seeing her friends looking at her, she realized that they had known even before her. "Okay, okay. Maybe I do like him. But he still only sees me as a friend, and I don't want to lose that."

"I was only kidding about Naruto, you know," Asano said. "But it's good that you finally realize that you like him. You have to make a move soon or someone else will."

Kurotsuchi looked worried by this but did not say anything further about it. "Can we please talk about something else. Ayako, I hear you have a crush on that loudmouth Junzo Tataki guy."

Ayako's face blushed such a deep red that Kurotsuchi was surprised that a like that shade could even exist on someone's face. She was very quiet and everyone knew about her crush on Junzo, except him. It was obvious as she would turn red and regain her stutter when he was around, but he still didn't notice.

The night went on in a similar manner until the girls went to bed not unreasonably late, as they had their first missions in the morning.

* * *

**Another chapter down. Please let me know how I'm doing with your reviews. If I'm doing something you don't like, that is the only way I will know about it.**

**Also, leave ideas for jutsus in the reviews, as I'm really bad at thinking them up.**

**Yui Nawabe:**

**Age: 26**

**Hair: Brown**

**Eyes: Green**

**Rank: Jonin**

**Special Skills: Extremely strong kenjutsu**

**-Ja ne**


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